Bhubaneswar: A Special Vigilance Court in Sundargarh on Friday sentenced Prasanta Kumar Rout, a former Block Development Officer (BDO) of Bisra in Sundargarh district, to four years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a bribery case.
According to an official release from Odisha Vigilance, Rout was arrested in 2023 for accepting a bribe of ₹1 lakh from a complainant in exchange for granting administrative approval and technical sanction for the plan and estimate of four projects funded under the 4th State Finance Commission (SFC) and 14th Central Finance Commission (CFC).
During subsequent raids on Rout’s properties in June 2023, Vigilance officials uncovered unaccounted cash amounting to over ₹3.02 crore. Rout, who had taken premature retirement as Sub-Collector of Nabarangpur, was also implicated in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.
The bribery case against Rout was fast-tracked following his arrest in the DA case, with Odisha Vigilance closely monitoring the proceedings. On Friday, the Special Judge, Vigilance, Sundargarh convicted Rout in the bribery case, sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for four years and imposing a fine of ₹50,000.
Following the court’s order, Rout was taken into custody to serve his sentence.
Odisha Vigilance has announced plans to approach the competent authority to seek the stoppage of Rout’s pension benefits.
